The victim of Wednesday night's shooting, Winston Downing (Photo Credit: Facebook)
Suspected Shooter Terell Dixon.
(KAIR)--The suspect accused of pulling the trigger that left an Atchison man dead is now in custody.
Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson says 19-year-old Terell Dixon was arrested in Henry County, Missouri Thursday. “He was taken into custody by the Clinton [Missouri] Police Department,” Wilson tells MSC News. “The Clinton, Missouri Police Department received a report of a suspicious person on the western edge of the city of Clinton near a busy highway intersection. An officer responded to that area and did not immediately see that person that had been reported but some nearby witnesses described that a person had gone to a nearby treeline, obviously to hide from the officer that had responded. The officer checked that area, that treeline, spotted the person they were talking about. That person took off running and a foot pursuit ensued.”
The officer captured the person who was then identified as Dixon.
Dixon remains jailed in Henry County, awaiting extradition, held on an Atchison County District Court Warrant charging him with 2nd degree murder. “He'll appear before a Missouri Circuit Court Judge based on the murder warrant out of Atchison,” Wilson says.
According to The Clinton Daily Democrat, bond for Dixon has been set at $500,000.
Police allege Dixon was the gunman who shot to death 24-year-old Winston Downing around 6:00 Wednesday evening outside the Kings Super Store at 912 Division Street.
Atchison Police issued a national alert for Dixon's arrest following the shooting.
A motive for the murder has not been made public. Specific details of how Downing and Dixon knew each other are not exactly clear, but Wilson says it appears they were known to one another. “Based on witnesses at the scene, there is some indication that when they saw each other they would have known who each other was, in the sense that they both arrived in the parking lot [of Kings] in separate vehicles. There was a conversation and a confrontation that ensued.”
Just days prior to the fatal shooting, Dixon posted what appeared to be a threatening message on his Facebook page. In the post, he stated that someone was looking for him, but he was not hiding, and was “posted with da iron,” an apparent reference to being armed with a firearm.
There's no immediate word on whether or not the September 6th post has any connection with the shooting that happened just three days later.
Dixon, a former resident of Arkansas, had lived in Atchison for no more than a year, according to authorities.
Henry County is located in central Missouri, about halfway between Kansas City and Springfield.
(KAIR)--A man is dead following an early evening Atchison shooting.
Killed in the parking lot of the King Super Store on the city's Division Street was 24-year-old Atchison resident Winston Downing.
Atchison Police Sergeant Brent Duncan, who was at the scene of the shooting that happened around 6:00, told MSC News, “[We] had a report of possible shots fired. Got up here, did have one victim on the ground. We're still looking for a suspect.”
Police Chief Mike Wilson identifies that suspect as a 19-year-old man. “Throughout the evening, we've conducted a number of interviews that have led us to search for Terell Dixon. After the shooting he fled from the scene on foot.” Wilson says that search took investigators to an Atchison residence around 11:00 Wednesday evening. “We're checking a number of residences. In fact, right now, shortly before 11 pm, we're searching a residence that he has an association to.” Wilson didn't immediately release the location of that address, but added that vehicles Dixon might be connected to are also being sought, and a national alert has been issued in case he fled the Atchison area.
Following the deadly shooting at 912 Division Street, crowds gathered outside the convenience store, held back from the immediate crime scene by yellow emergency tape, as city police were joined by the Atchison County Sheriff's Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol in overseeing the investigation.
As the search for Dixon continued Wednesday night, Wilson confirmed there were reports of shots fired elsewhere in the city, but investigators have found no definite evidence to prove those claims. “We don't have any other victims. We continue to respond to several areas where shots were reportedly fired but nothing's been found," Wilson said.
Meanwhile, family and friends are remembering Winston Downing as a likable personality who would do anything for someone in need.
The father of three was a familiar figure in Atchison, often spotted riding his moped and known for his constant smile.
Hours after the shooting, family and friends took to social media to memorialize their lost loved one, sharing pictures and memories of the man they call a great father and a great friend.
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